With 8-5 back in service for a day and a half, at approximately 4:00 am on Monday the 21st, CHFD was dispatched to a structure fire at The Asian Tea House at 117 Columbia Turnpike. CHFD Car 3 (Asst. Chief Racine) arrived and requested a re-dispatch for a working fire. Car 1 (Chief Tracy) arrived moments later and took command while Car 3 assumed the operations officer duties. A second alarm for box 08-30 (Commercial Occupancy) was requested immediately brining an additional 3 engines and 2 trucks plus the FAST team and rehab unit. Engine Company 8-5 arrived, secured a water supply and stretched an attack line to the seat of the fire in the kitchen area. The crew from Truck 8 took the roof and completed ventilation duties. The engine crew made quick work of the well involved kitchen fire. Mutual aid companies assisted with searches, overhaul and salvage. Damage was confined primarily to the kitchen area of the restaurant. Companies were in service by approximately 8:00 am. The investigation into the cause and origin is ongoing. Units: CHFD Car 1, 2, 3, 8-5, T-8, Squad 8, Rescue 8, 11-8, T-11, T-29, 3-6, 9-7 (FAST), Utility 43 (Rehab), Bruen Rescue and EGPD.

Less than 12 hours after a 2nd alarm fire in our own district, the CHFD was requested on a 2nd alarm to the City of Rensselaer for Box 29-02 at 708 East St. CHFD responded with Cars 1, 2 and 3, 8-5, T-8 and R-8. Car 2 (Asst. Chief O'Connor) was the first CHFD officer on scene. He quickly met up with the IC, Asst. Chief Corcoran and received orders for the CHFD units. Engine Co. 8-5 and Truck 8 arrived moments later. 8-5 secured its own water supply and the crew stretched a line to the second floor while the Truck went to work opening up on the second floor as well. The aggressive interior attack by the Rensselaer and Clinton Heights units made quick work of the fire. Exposures were a mere 3 feet away on either side. Neither suffered any damage due to the rapid fire suppression.

Members of the Clinton Heights Fire Department have been completing bailout training as required by NYS law. Six members were recently certified as trainers by Capital Technical Rescue and Safety Consultants on the Sterling F4 bailout system. These six instructors, led by Assistant Chief Chris Racine have been training our department's interior firefighters in this valuable aspect of firefighting. A small crew led by Lieutenant Marcus Kravitz renovated a training prop in one of our stations to be used for the bailout training. We now have the ability to train at any time the need arises.

Friday the 13th [of March 2015] turned out to be a bad omen for a family on the 100 block of Columbia Turnpike, East Greenbush. About 5:45pm, a passerby noticing smoke pouring from an attic window at the residence, stopped and alerted the unsuspecting residents. After the 911 call, the Clinton Heights Fire Department was dispatched. Car 3 arrived first and reported a working fire. Car 1 arrived seconds later and requested a second alarm. Heavy smoke had turned to flame and with the arrival of Engine 8-5 and Truck 8, an attack line was brought into the structure. After a challenge to find the staircase to the attic where the fire was centered, the firefighters on the line were able to make a quick knock-down of the fire. Extinguishing hot spots pursued. Called to the scene were the Defreestville Fire Department who provided a FAST team; the East Greenbush and Best Luther Fire Departments also added extra manpower at the scene while the Castleton Fire Department provided a cover assignment back at Station II. Especially challenging was the traffic on Routes 9 & 20 (Columbia Turnpike) during the after-work rush hour. The cause of the fire was determined to be careless smoking. All units were back in service by 9:00pm.

As an exercise for the winter months in the Northeast, the Clinton Heights Fire Department retained Lifeguard Systems, Inc. to provide certified training in surface ice water rescue. The two day program took place in East Greenbush on January 24th and 25th, 2015. Seventeen firefighters participated including personnel from the Melrose Fire Department of Rensselaer County and the Fort Edward Fire Department located in Washington County, New York. The program presented to the participants the disciplines and skill-sets needed to successfully bring to safety a victim(s) who would have fallen through the ice. Among the considerable material the student had to comprehend included the physical/bodily costs to the victim who has fallen through the ice: heat loss, cold stress, hypothermia, blood pressure and other immersion complications. Also considered was the command structure involving the staging of personnel, equipment and apparatus, and of course, the actual rescue techniques. Line tending, proper patient handling, ice transport and the personal protective equipment of the rescuers. The on-ice exercises took place on Hampton Manor Lake, East Greenbush (see photos).

With the impending weather approaching, please be sure to dig the outside vents and gas utilities. Snow covered gas vents can lead to a furnace shutdown. Snow covered dryer vents can cause a backup of carbon monoxide. Snow covered gas meters can freeze. Please share and be safe. Also if you have a hydrant close by please adopt it and clear a perimeter around the it roughly 3 feet around and a path to the street. ... See MoreSee Less